It wasn't a mere clash, it was a crash of the titans, and the Clippers' Blake Griffin and Memphis' Zach Randolph ended up neutralizing each other.

When the time came for help to arrive, the Clippers had it, significantly more than the Grizzlies did.

The Clippers' vaunted bench, which had struggled for much of the second half of the season, came up big as the Clippers scored a 112-91 win in Game 1 of the Western Conference first-round playoff series Saturday night at Staples Center.

Guard Eric Bledsoe, whose struggles with a sore calf were a sign of frustration, announced he is back at full speed, and just in time for the Clippers.

Bledsoe scored 15 points, making all seven of his shots, and added six rebounds and four assists to lead the cavalry charge as the best-of-7 series opened.

He was so good - Bledsoe's 6-for-6 shooting came in the second half - Coach Vinny Del Negro left him in with the front-line troops of Chris Paul and Chauncey Billups.

"Eric had a great stride to his step tonight, especially in the second half," Del Negro said. "His energy, it felt like it was contagious out there.

"I wanted to try to keep Bled's speed on (Mike) Conley as much as possible, and those are decisions you make. I could have easily went back with Caron (Butler), who played well. I could have easily went back with Jamal (Crawford), who was making shots and you always have to guard him.

"Those are decisions you make and that's the beauty of this team. Do they all want to be out there? Of course. You have to find out what matchups work and you have find out what will work at the end of the game."

Paul scored nine of his 23 points in the third quarter, Billups had 14 and Crawford and Butler had 13 apiece to lead the Clippers, who had seven players reach double figures.

And the Clippers won the rebounding battle 47-23, which helped limit Memphis to only five second-chance points.

"It's just one of those games," Del Negro said. "They really hurt us in the past on the glass. They're so physical up front, they're athletic and they know how to use their bodies. That's been an issue for us."

Griffin and Randolph battled so hard they both got into foul trouble and were both on the bench in the fourth quarter with four fouls. When they returned, the fray continued and they were called for a double foul on one another.

Griffin finally fouled out with 10 points and six rebounds, and Randolph had 13 points and four rebounds.

"It was physical," Del Negro said. "They had the double foul and they're going to be battling the whole series. That's what it is every time we play. I was proud of Blake, he just kept battling, doing whatever we needed to win the game.

"That's what the series is going to be about. I thought Blake really stepped up for us and helped us win this basketball game."

Jerryd Bayless came off the bench to lead Memphis with 19 points and Marc Gasol added 16 points and seven assists, but had only two rebounds and made just 4 of 12 shots.

Holding serve on the home court is the slightest advantage, but when the teams are so close, any little bit helps.

Keeping their emotions in check was no easy task, not with the way Griffin and Randolph went after each other in the paint. The battle was so fierce that by midway through the third period, both were on the bench with four fouls. Randolph had 13 points, Griffin six by that stage.

Both teams picked up technical fouls.

But what it came down to was the Clippers playing their game more efficiently than the Grizzlies could play theirs. The Clippers' reserves scored 28 of their 49 points in the second half.

"The bench has been so productive for us all season," Del Negro said. "It's a unique thing to have the depth that we have, so why not use it? They deserve the right to be out there, and they've been producing for us."